Christmas Greetings

Merry Christmas!!

I hope to get back to this space again soon.

Three

The vintage tree ornaments have been sitting here for three weeks.

The tree was cut and brought into the house three days ago.

I have been to the store three times to get the right lights.

I told Friendie the tree would be ready at three o'clock today.

I am ready....since I just drank three cups of coffee!!!

Oh...and I bought these gorgeous vintage ornaments at a thrift store for three dollars!

In Tune

I had Wally, the piano tuner, here last week.

I bought this piano at a local estate sale a month ago.

The piano was first tuned in 1972....and once more in 1973.

This was only the third time this piano has ever been tuned!

Wally said the piano appeared to have never been played.

He was very impressed by its condition.

There wasn't even any dust inside!

He said it set a record for the 'most out of tune' piano he has ever tuned!

But now we have a beautifully tuned piano just in time for the Christmas season!!!

(I put in a $200 bid.....and was so surprised to actually get this piano!  We gave our other piano to our oldest daughter, (who was wanting a piano for her house) since we bought that piano back when she was a little girl taking piano lessons....just incase we are asked to leave this piano in our house when we move.)

Season's Change

We have had unseasonably warm weather these past weeks.

Two days ago we worked outside without jackets.

Yesterday the wind started blowing....

Today the wind is still howling....

and it has brought us our first snow!

(Picture taken through the window....I don't plan on going outside unless necessary today)

(Our dog has the very same plan.)

Give Thanks

We have so much to be thankful for!

I am especially thankful for my family and the memories created over the years.

Oh how quickly the years are passing...

may we pause each day and remember to Give Thanks... In All Things.

God's Blessings to you on this Thanksgiving Day!

Greetings From Me and The Boys

With talk of winter weather coming our way....

and a few more hours before my little boys fill my arms....

I thought I would send a quick greeting!

Mister B

(his initials are MRB)

9 Days Old

Friendie

(Because we are the best of friends)

4 1/2

Overdue...

But oh so worth the wait!!!

Macen Ray

(Pronounced Mason)

Apple Crisp Autumn

The apples came from a friend.

The rainy autumn day called for some baking.

The ingredients were in the pantry.

The recipients were across town.

The recipe is here:

Apple Crisp

4 cups apples, sliced

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup oats (regular or quick)

1/3 cup butter, softened

3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Spread apples in a greased 8 inch square pan

Mix together all other ingredients and sprinkle on apples

Bake about 30 minutes or until the topping is golden brown and the apples are tender

(I tripled the recipe....and baked it almost an hour)

Baby Gifts

My sister made this little doll about 27 years ago for my oldest girl.

She did a great job....but declared she would NEVER make another one.

I dug her out of the keepsake box.

After a couple good baths and some repairs, she is ready for another little girl to love!

My newest little Grand-niece joined our family a couple weeks ago!

I got to meet little Harper this weekend....what a sweet little thing!!!

I made her a Raggedy Ann blanket to go with her dolly.

I hope to get to snuggle her up in it again soon!!

I also made a quilt for my "Baby" sister.

I meant to get a photo of it after she opened it....

but I totally forgot.

This was a block of the month quilt that I did not work on each month.

I waited until 2 days before it needed to go to the quilter.

The fabric for the squares came cut and ready to sew together.

Which is great....

except when something is missing...

and one piece was.

But one month's packet came with an extra piece....

which just happened to be the exact same size as the missing piece!!!

It might not be perfect, but neither am I....

so I counted my blessings and used it!!!

I am so thankful for all the "Babies" in my life!!!

In The Corn Field

Look close.

Behind that bend in the road sign.

Can you see that little house???

Oh wait...

That is just in my head!!

Give it another year....

then you will be able to see it too!

This and That

Picked this

Worked on that

Cheered for this

Cheered for that

57 Years Later.....

October 1955

My Father-in-Law joined the U.S. Navy

57 years later...

his son is commissioned!

After jumping through many hoops this past year and a half, my husband is now a Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Naval Reserve.

Now I suppose I will have to start calling him 'Sir'!!

Vintage Storage

These make me feel like traveling!

But they will be used to store toys and keepsakes that someone just couldn't part with.

Someone is also tickled to have found them today for 99 cents each!

Passing Thru

If you pass thru my kitchen, you will see these words...

as you pass thru life, try to live them!

Life Is...

....adjusting to school routines

preschool

high school

college

....running to

soccer

cross country

football

....preparing for

buying

selling

moving

....working on

cleaning

purging

projects

....hoping for

ambition

order

peace

....like a bowl of cherries

beautiful

sweet

pits

Praying the beautiful and sweet outnumber the pits!

Summer Days

Summer days have come to an end.

I feel like I missed the whole season.

(I will be back with a more positive attitude once I am done with this annoying end of the summer cold)

Feelin Groovy

A young friend of ours just turned 40....

so a 70's party was in order!!!

I found some groovy party decor at the Goodwill.

Unfortunately, a storm blew in when the party was just getting started and I didn't get any photos of the all the outdoor decorations.....macrame, glass grapes, mushrooms and lots of brown, gold and orange.

I hunted for 70's items for weeks!

I was thrilled to get most items for under $5 at my favorite Goodwill store.

Including this lava lamp for 99 cents!

Tiki guys for 49 cents each!

A 70's Candy Sampler brought back some memories.

Friendie (my 4 year old grandson) said the Fruit Stripe Gum smells like fruit, but tastes like cardboard....he is SO right!!!!

The cake turned out great!

(I did NOT make the cake)

I was searching for our "threads" up until the day of the party.

I made a last minute stop and found these white GoGo boots....in just my size!

My husband is wearing my Dad's old racing shirt, but the rest of our outfits came from the Goodwill for a total cost of $20....

don't we look like 100 20 bucks???  :)

Yes...that is a Mood Ring on my finger....

but I didn't need a ring to tell me that I was "Feelin Groovy"!!!!

Someone's Treasures

A while back I bought a wooden box at an auction.

Inside the box I found this locket.

I also found a type written poem dated 1948.

I do not know if the locket and the poem belonged to the same person,

but I do know they were someone's cherished treasures.

How sad that they ended up in a wooden box at an auction.

In A Pickle

One very, very hot day last week my Twin Sister and I went picking.

She picked some nice green and yellow beans.

Wash them.

Blanch them.

Stick them in a bag and toss them in your freezer.

She did add an extra step and laid the blanched beans out on a cookie sheet and individually froze them before tossing them in a bag in the freezer. (overachiever)

Her produce was promptly taken care of.

I picked cucumbers.

Then I sat and dreaded admired them for days.

Today we FINALLY had a cooler day and I FINALLY took care of the cucumbers!

I made three different kinds of pickles.

The cucumbers I was able to pick were getting pretty big.

Last year I made a Dill Relish, which has become a family favorite.

Big cucumbers work the best for the relish.

I slice the cucumbers lengthwise and cut out all of the seeds.

Then I dice them up one by one.....NOT!

My Grandma Bonnie thought these onion choppers were the best kitchen tool.

She made sure my sisters and I each got one.

Even though I don't use it for chopping onions, I LOVE it for making relish!

If you don't have an onion chopper, you can use a food processor. 

Dill Pickle Relish
4 lb cucumbers
1/4 cup pickling salt (you must use non-iodized salt or it will turn a nasty color)
1/2 tsp turmeric (I used ground)
2 cups white vinegar (5%)
1/3 cup sugar
4 cloves garlic, minced (I used the jar stuff) 
1 Tbsp dill seeds
2 tsp mustard seeds
1 1/2 cups onions
Scrub cucumbers and trim off ends and cut into chunks. In batches in a food processor, pulse cucumbers and onions 8 to 10 times to cut into 1/8 to 1/4″ pieces.

In a large bowl, sprinkle cucumbers with salt and turmeric. Stir in 1 cup cold water and let stand for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Drain in large sieve. Rinse under cold water and drain again, pressing out moisture.
On a large saucepan bring vinegar, sugar, garlic, dill seeds and mustard seeds to a boil. Add cucumber mixture, return to a boil, stirring often. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 30 minutes.
Ladle into half pint jars leaving a 1/2″ headspace. Process jars in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Adjust time according to altitude.
Makes About: 3 pints

The smaller of the cucumbers I stuffed into jars and made my favorite 

Garlic Dill Pickles

In the bottom of a quart jar:

1 clove garlic

1 Tablespoon canning salt

1 Tablespoon sugar

Dill (I used 2 teaspoons dill seed)

1/2 cup cider vinegar

Pack in cucumbers

Fill with fairly hard water

Seal

Process in hot water bath 15 min.

(I also made some chunk pickles using this recipe.....last year I made burger slices)

With the medium size cucumbers I made a batch of 

Refrigerator Pickles

8 cups sliced cucumbers

1 onion sliced

1/4 cup canning salt

1 teaspoon mustard seed

1 teaspoon celery seed

1 cup vinegar

2 cups sugar

These will shrink down and then you can put them into smaller containers in your refrigerator.

I didn't put the canning supplies too far away, I am thinking next week my sister might want to borrow them....

while I am freezing beans!  :)

Why Blog?

Sometimes we can see clearly what is on the other side of the window, 

other times it may be just a blur.

If you could see clearly through this window right now, you would see cobwebs. (Thankfully on the outside.)  What you do see is the sweet vintage plant hanger I found for $4.00 two weeks ago....I can't believe the plant cuttings have rooted already!

***

Life changes.

I never really know what I will be blogging about.

I blog because I have some Blog Friends who actually read my ramblings.

I never make money off my blog. 

I blog because I know my family is lurking....even though they rarely leave me comments. ;)

I never talk about politics.

I blog because one day I may not remember today.

***

My sewing blog has so very little sewing on it right now.

I wanted a simpler title to go with my simpler life.

I hope you will add yourself to my list of Friends (followers) and leave a comment once in a while.

Thanks for stopping by!!!